Planning a custom home in Sierra Madre

1. 01

   Ask which entitlement the scope requires

   Planning evaluates zoning compliance at the start. The page names Design Review, Conditional Use, Variance and Hillside Development as possible discretionary entitlements, but says not every project requires one. Ask staff to classify your parcel and proposal, not a generic new-home sketch.

   Official resource: Sierra Madre · Planning applications

   City-wide guidance · Passage checked October 13, 2026

2. 02

   Confirm the design professional for the named permit

   The City’s notice requires a California Architects Board-licensed architect to prepare design drawings and supporting material for Design Review, Administrative Design Review, Hillside Development and Administrative Hillside Development applications. This is a rule for those categories, not a statement about every small alteration.

   Official resource: Sierra Madre · Planning applications

   City-wide guidance · Passage checked October 13, 2026

3. 03

   Submit through Accela with one coordinated scope

   The plan-check page directs Plan Check, Building and Zoning applications through Accela Citizen Portal. It describes routing construction plans through Planning, Public Works, Structural, Fire and Building review. Use the same scope and revision identifiers across disciplines.

   Official resource: Sierra Madre · Plan check services

   City-wide guidance · Passage checked October 12, 2026

4. 04

   Keep corrections connected to earlier comments

   The City describes redlined plans and revised submissions after corrections. Assign responsibility for each comment and ask which current pre-entitlement or post-entitlement checklist applies; approval is not assumed from uploading a revised set.

   Official resource: Sierra Madre · Plan check services

   City-wide guidance · Passage checked October 12, 2026

Each step links to the official page it comes from. Requirements differ by parcel; confirm with the agency.

Sierra Madre is an incorporated city in Los Angeles County.

City of Sierra Madre — Planning & Community Preservation Department; plan review also routes to Public Works, Structural, Fire and Building divisions.

Which planning question to resolve first here, and why it shapes the brief. Each answer comes from the cited City page or stays a question for staff.

1. Question 1

   Does the project need a discretionary entitlement?

   The Planning Applications page (read October 13, 2026) refers to SMMC 17.60 to decide whether Design Review, a Hillside Development Permit or another entitlement applies.

   source: Sierra Madre · Planning applications

2. Question 2

   Who must prepare the drawings?

   Since June 23, 2022, Design Review and Hillside Development applications (including administrative ones) require drawings prepared by an architect licensed by the California Architects Board.

   source: Sierra Madre · Planning applications

3. Question 3

   Which divisions review the plans?

   Plan check routes to Public Works, structural, fire and building reviewers; keep responses coordinated.

   source: Sierra Madre · Plan check services

• Choosing a licensed architect →
• If a hillside permit applies →
• Replace or remodel →

• Architect-prepared entitlement materials for the named review category
• Coordinated structural, site and fire comments rather than isolated drawing revisions
• Clear responsibility for re-submission and changed scope

These items affect cost; none is a price. See how to build a realistic budget: Custom home budget guide

• Comparing square-foot figures
• Asking for grading, utilities and walls as separate lines
• Open the budget worksheet
• Base dates and escalation for a later start

• Does this proposal need a design-review or hillside entitlement, and which category?
• Who will prepare and coordinate the architect’s supporting material?
• Which review comments must be resolved together before the construction set changes?

• Address or APN and recent site photos
• Survey, title report and prior permits if available
• Architect drawings, or a written list of rooms and priorities
• Target timing and how you plan to finance construction

Related guides: Buying land to build · Lot utility due diligence · Choosing a custom-home builder · 2025 Energy Code for new homes · Hillside lot due diligence

Each source shows what it covers and whether its passage was checked in our review.

• Sierra Madre · Planning applications

  Entitlement classification and architect requirement for named permit categories, beginning June 23, 2022.

  City-wide guidance · Passage checked October 13, 2026
• Sierra Madre · Plan check services

  Accela submissions, multidisciplinary review and corrections.

  City-wide guidance · Passage checked October 12, 2026

2 of 2 official source passages checked (latest October 13, 2026).

Page content last updated: October 12, 2026

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